Andreina C. provided an update to the Board on the Assistant Superintendent search, speaking on behalf of the search committee, which included Arlene Garcia, Andreina Croes, Ms. Denu, Ms. O’Toole, and Stacy O'Brien.

The committee interviewed five candidates from school districts across Massachusetts and one from New Hampshire. Sally Stocolks was selected and offered the position. She currently works in the Berlin-Boylston Regional School District in Boylston, MA. Sally was drawn to LFDCS because of its strong focus on family engagement. She has served as an interim principal and brings experience in curriculum development and staff training. She holds the proper licensure for the role.

Chris N. asked about the size of the Boylston district, and Darshan T. responded that it is larger than LFDCS. Darshan also noted that while many strong candidates applied, Sally stood out for her well-rounded experience, especially given the role’s focus on compliance, reporting, and school operations.

Dave D. asked when she would begin, and Darshan confirmed her start date is July 1st.

Chris N. also asked about Sally's willingness to work closely with a board primarily made up of parents. Andreina C. shared that Sally was informed of this and expressed enthusiasm about working with a parent-led board. Darshan added that Sally has experience presenting to school committees as part of her current curriculum role.

Nicole D. gave an update to the Board on the Spring MAP data.

In reading, fewer students are now in the Advanced and Tier 1 levels, and more students have moved into Tiers 2 and 3. This same pattern also appeared in the Spanish results. Nicole D. shared that, like many schools across the country, students are still dealing with reading gaps that started during the pandemic. Because of this, NWEA, the group behind MAP, plans to update its scoring norms, since the achievement gap has grown over the years. Filling in these reading gaps is tough and will take extra support, more time in school, and more targeted help. 

At LFDCS, teachers are working hard with the new reading curriculum to close those gaps.

On the positive side, students are doing well in math. More students are now in Advanced and Tier 1. There was a small increase (about 1%) in Tier 3, but overall, the results in math are much stronger than in reading.

In Spanish, the number of students in Advanced and Tiers 1 and 2 went down, while more students landed in Tier 3.

Science showed fewer students in Advanced and Tiers 2 and 3, but more in Tier 1, which means more students are performing at grade level.

Chris N. asked if teachers are using this data to adjust the curriculum. Nicole said that teachers are still getting used to the new curriculum, and as they become more comfortable with it and make it their own, student scores should continue to improve.

Chris also asked how teachers feel about the new curriculum. The heads of school said the feedback has been positive overall, but like with anything new, it takes time to get used to. Chloe P. added that the same thing happened when the Journeys curriculum was first introduced.

As the meeting had to move into executive session, Darshan T. asked that the rest of Nicole’s report be shared at the next Board meeting.

This agenda item has been moved to the Board meeting in June. 

This agenda item has been moved to the Board meeting in June.